Pioneers of American Landscape Design

This book introduces the reader to the geniuses and more ordinary folk who brought about the key decisions that shaped American landscapes and public spaces, and established the United States as a leader in land design, planning, and conservation. Many landscape historians, educators, and others participated in this project and wrote the individual essays contained in this 352-page book.

Told in 160 revealing biographical essays and illustrated with more than 450 plans and photographs (100 of which are in full color), this book is the first to embrace the entire scope of this historic subject. Pioneers of American Landscape Design takes the reader from border to border and across time from pre-American Revolution to modern designs from the recent past. This broad-spectrum portrait expands conventional definitions of landscape architecture to include key figures not previously associated with the profession. At the same time, it focuses in to bring the reader previously unrecognized details of design and development.  

About the Editors

Charles A. Birnbaum, FASLA, FAAR, Founder and President of the Cultural Landscape Foundation and former Coordinator of the National Park Service Historic Landscape Initiative, and Robin Karson, Executive Director of the Library of American Landscape History, served as project editors.